Category: shopping

The Gift from Kenya I’m Most Thankful For and Turning Black Friday Red

by [email protected]

What’s up with the Red? While Black Friday is known for businesses turning a profit and consumers getting deals, the holidays also put many people in the red – in debt. Maybe that’s why I’m thinking more about the tall, thin Maasai in red than the round Santas in red. While I have so much more to learn about this fascinating indigenous tribe, I invite you to ponder with me how people can be happy choosing to live simply.

On my trip to Kenya we had the privilege of visiting a Maasai village (boma) and learning about their traditions. Being herders, they always moved their stock to fresh grazing grounds, which any farmer knows is as beneficial to the land as to the animals. While moving requires building new houses (manyattas) of mud, dung, sticks, and thatch, the old houses gracefully melt back into the earth with the seasonal rains. Compare that to the resources we use to rebuild or remodel buildings just because they are “dated”.

Many people are horrified to learn that the traditional Maasai diet is mostly milk and blood obtained from their cows, sheep, and goats (without harming them) along with what they can forage. Isn’t that a definition of sustainability? I am more horrified by the fact that the US throws away about 40 billion pounds – almost 40% of the US food supply – every year.

The Maasai adult’s clothing was always immaculate
Toddlers? Not so much, just like anywhere.
This favorite moment was too short, and a reason to go back. Thanks to Geoff Barnard for capturing it!
My best gift from Kenya? Besides the spectacular wildlife, I treasure the invaluable perspective gained by connecting with her beautiful people, whether traditional or modern. On my next trip, (Spoiler alert! I’m going again, and to Tanzania!) we will be touring Kibera, the largest slum on the continent of Africa, as well as exploring cultures, changes, and challenges more deeply. I look forward to sharing what I can when I can, and I hope you’ll stick with me for the ride.
Have you ever wondered how I can afford to travel to Kenya having worked at meaningful but low-paying jobs all my life? There are clues in the blog post and newsletter I wrote in November of 2019 to counter-balance the tsunami of Black Friday ads. I called it Turning Black Friday Green. With inflation and climate change, it’s even more relevant now, since it’s about saving money and saving the planet. It was sifted from my book, Enchanted – Reflections from a Joyfully Green and Frugally Rich Life. By the way, they make great gifts, as do the 2025 calendars I just created from 13 of my favorite photos of Kenya. See, I’m not against capitalism! Here’s a sneak peek – September, March, January, and May. You can order my book, wall  calendars, desk calendars or Dutch Birthday Calendars on my website   www.hollyonthelake.com   (even if I haven’t updated the photos there!) or email me     [email protected]
In the interest of irrepressible joy, I will re-share a video sent by my Maasai friend Solomon of an elephant parade accompanied by heart-lifting music. Please note the drought-ridden landscape. The matriarch is leading her family to water – if it’s still there. Consider for just a moment how over-consumption in our land (and insistence on fossil fuels) is causing climate change to devastate lands around the world. Then enjoy the video, as I have many times. I have seen African people exhibit joy, warmth, and hospitality, despite their hard lives and endangered habitat. Let me know if you are interested in changing lives. There are many safe, easy, and rewarding ways to help. Or just be thankful for all we have.
By the way, an x-ray showed my fractured vertebra is healed – in only five weeks! One more thing to be super thankful for.
With joy, thanksgiving, and hope,
Holly

This Sunday! Too little time, too many photos

by [email protected]

Goodbye pumpkins, hello snow! Greenie and Slim have gone deep ahead of the ice. Red and Pinkalicious have been visiting the vine by my kitchen window. The deer are gobbling up the last of my simple gardens. There’s always a friend around if we keep our eyes and ears open.

My theme continues as I prepare for Sunday’s opening of my photo/poetry exhibit, (details below) so I will keep this short. It’s both a joy and a challenge to share my images and thoughts. It’s so encouraging when people say I should be charging more for my art. But as I look at the 60 pics in all kinds and sizes of frames filling my living room as I sort them for areas of the library, one thought prevails. I would love to know they will grace other people’s walls, perhaps after being wrapped as a gift. So I’m keeping my prices down with that in mind.

But lest I sound like an advertisement, know that I would LOVE to have you just come to the library during November and December to relax as you peruse the pictures and poetry. I’m not making a lot of cards since I have no venue for them beyond Sunday, but I already have one special order and and am open to making more. And of course my book, Enchanted – Reflections from a Joyfully Green and Frugally Rich Life is always available from me.

The future? I have a good start on Greenie’s book and am anxious to get back to work on it. I have more VERY exciting news, but I’ll save that for later. Here’s a picture to make you smile and a couple of the more philosophical new pieces for my exhibit.

Eye to eye with Greenie under the water as it got colder. “I’ll miss you this winter!” 
Milkweed Message

I’m holding on to so much stuff
While some don’t have enough
To live a simple life
Within a humble home

Why?

It’s time to let my treasures go
So they can travel on the wind
Until they find a place to grow
While I embrace
The calm of empty space

                                        Holly Jorgensen
Angeleaf

All summer long, despite the drought,
gazillions of leaves spent their mornings and eves 
capturing carbon and gifting us life.
Now they go out in blazes of glorious oranges and deep reds 
even as we lie asleep in our beds.

I, too, am in the autumn of my years 
but tears are not my thing. 
I'd rather sing a song of hope 
that my transition from this earthly home 
might have a fraction of the grit and grace 
of a leaf as she leaves this lovely place 
and lets herself be blown 
to yet another mysterious, miraculous unknown. 

                                                      Holly Jorgensen


Exhibit details: 
On display November through December, 2023  
Opening reception: 1:30 to 4:30 pm, Sunday, November 5th, 2023  Central STANDARD time! 
I will give brief presentations at 1:40, 2:40, and 3:40
Burnhaven Library, 1101 County Rd 42 W, Burnsville, MN 55306
I'd love to see you there!

Shopping Lessons from the Fishes

by [email protected]

Greenie, Slim, and their kids have gone deep in the lake and slowed their metabolism, enabling them to rest and survive with little food or sunlight as the ice covers the lake. I miss them, of course, but have begun to visit the Minnesota Zoo more often for my “fish fix” and to learn more about these amazing creatures. Gazing at the diverse communities in Discovery Bay, I’m mesmerized by the apparent tranquility of the swimmers.

blue fish

Fishes of all sizes, intriguing sea turtles, and humongous sharks – silver, yellow, blue and green drift by. Then Luke, one of the zoo’s many friendly and knowledgeable staff, points out something I hadn’t noticed – a white puffer fish hiding motionless in a corner. He tells me that “Mr. Puff”, as he calls him, when feeling threatened, responds by retreating to his safe place. Puffing up to perhaps three times his normal size and showing off his spikes may protect him from predators. But it also puts enormous stress on his internal organs. This clever fellow has learned to go into his corner and relax before the stress tears him apart. Can we learn something from Mr. Puff? And from Greenie and friends, finding peace by reducing their consumption?

puffer fish

Speaking of stress, I hear that holiday shopping can feel like a shark at your back, especially with labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and higher prices. 

shark

Another black Friday has passed while I stayed home. Cyber Monday will likely pass without my ordering anything online. I guess I am atypical, since this weekend is already breaking holiday shopping records. Yet, as the sun rose on Small Business Saturday, I was reminded that I have a small business. Very small. Selling is not one of my talents. But a friend recently read my book and was struck by the line “We can rest gratefully in the bosom of sufficiency.” His quoting it reminded me of why I wrote the book. And why I’ve been speaking on “Saving Money, the Planet, and your Sanity” since 2005. And why, exactly three years ago, I wrote about “Turning Black Friday Green” in my blog. Go back to that if you’re looking for ideas on alternative gift-giving – ideas that save money and the environment.

Holly & book

Or order my book. It does make a great gift. You can order from my website or email me. Let me know if you want me to sign it, and to whom. I’ll even gift wrap it and send it directly to your giftee if you like. I am designing my 2023 calendars now and will update my website soon. In the meantime, email me for details and with your calendar requests.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as satisfying as mine, feeling deeply grateful for friends and family, fish and fun.